a) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a crystallized glass article and a method of producing such crystallized glass article, more particularly, to a crystallized glass article having patterns that can be used as an interior or exterior building material, or as a panel material used in office desks or furniture, and to a method of producing such crystallized glass article having patterns.
b) Description of the Related Art
As mentioned in the above paragraph, crystallized glass articles with patterns formed thereon are in demand as materials used in buildings, furniture, and office desks. As such, various materials have been proposed in the past to constitute such crystallized glass, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. S53-39884 disclosed a crystallized glass containing precipitated β-wollastonite (β-CaO.SiO2) type crystals; Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H03-205323 disclosed a crystallized glass containing precipitated diopside (CaO.MgO.2SiO2) type crystals; and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H06-24768 disclosed a crystallized glass containing precipitated β-wollastonite (β-CaO.SiO2) type and diopside (CaO.MgO.2SiO2) type crystals.
However, the aforementioned crystallized glasses are made into crystallized glass articles with natural-marble-like surfaces by accumulation where crystallization is achieved by heating a plurality of small crystalline glass masses accumulated in a fireproof molding box. The accumulation method is used because none of the aforementioned crystallized glasses includes a nucleating agent, which means that crystals would precipitate almost vertically from the surface of the crystalline glass into the interior thereof. This type of crystallized glass, namely the surface-crystallized glass, would not have patterns shown on its surface even if it were crystallized by heat treatment after being rolled and pressed into a glass plate; thus, a natural-marble-like pattern cannot be obtained.
On the other hand, in making natural-marble-like crystallized glass articles by accumulation, a plurality of small crystalline glass masses are fusion-bonded, forming crystallized glass, and since the crystals in the crystallized glass are confined to the shape of the small crystalline glass masses and patterns vary with the presence and different directions of the crystals, the patterns formed are small and lack varieties.